For as long as type has existed, successful designs have been copied by competing foundries. More recently, the grunge boom in the nineties saw the birth of a new, punk-influenced design aesthetic. Aspiring type designers with no formal training adopted the DIY attitude, disassembling the outlines of existing typefaces and reconstructing them into bastard hybrids. This approach is similar to sampling in hip hop, where rhythm tracks are assembled by rearranging snippets of existing songs. But whereas the music business provides a legal framework for sampling, the type industry is apparently clueless on how to deal with this phenomenon.
Stephen Coles
Writer, Typographer (Oakland, California)
Stephen Coles is an editor and typographer living in Oakland and Berlin. He publishes Fonts In Use and Typographica, consults with type foundries on editorial content and with various organizations on typeface selection and licensing. Stephen is author of the book The Anatomy of Type (The Geometry of Type in the UK), and serves on the…
Yves Peters
Graphic Designer, Rock Drummer (Ghent, Belgium)
Yves Peters is a graphic designer / rock drummer / father of three who tries to be critical about typography without coming across as a snob. Former editor-in-chief of The FontFeed, he has found a new home on FontShop News. Yves writes about type and talks at conferences. His ability…
